This article analyses the conversion to Islam of indigenous chiefs in North Cameroon. The chiefs in question belong to the Mundang ethnic group, amongst whom the author carried out anthropological fieldwork in 1988-1990 and 1992. Their Islamization is interpreted as an outcome of the ambivalence brought about by their intermediary role between the demands and aspirations of the local population, and the power relations at play in the wider society, characterized by a certain degree of Fulbe hegemony. This approach offers insights relevant for the connection between conversion and the political career ambitions of the chiefs in the context of the formation of a regional power bloc on the eve of independence, the relations between Islam and ethnic identity, and the popular legitimacy of conversion. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.